From Acquisition to Day One: Getting a Dealership Operational
Buying the dealership is only the beginning.
Once the acquisition is complete, the work of getting the dealership ready to operate begins.
Employees need access to the systems they use every day. Computers and devices need to be ready. DMS users, security, specifications, and forms need to be established. Payment systems need to work. Phones and networks need to be operational. Vendors need to be coordinated.
And all of it has to come together quickly, because the dealership still has a business to run.
For Pharr Nissan of Chesterton, OWL Automotive Consulting helped coordinate the technology, systems, vendors, and resources needed to prepare the newly acquired dealership for Day One and ongoing operations.
You Acquired a Dealership. Now What?
A dealership acquisition creates a long list of moving pieces, many of which are dependent on one another.
The DMS needs to be prepared for the new operation. Specifications need to be carried over or established. Users need to be created with the appropriate security and access. Dealership employees need to review and validate information. Required forms need to be ready.
At the same time, computers need to be configured, networks need to be operational, payment systems and phones need to work, equipment needs to be in place, and vendors need to complete their respective responsibilities.
One missed dependency can quickly affect another part of the dealership.
That is where experience matters.
OWL understands how dealership systems and operations work together and can help coordinate the technology requirements that come with bringing a newly acquired dealership online.
For Pharr Nissan of Chesterton, that meant bringing together resources across OWL's Professional Services, Infrastructure, IT Project Management, and Managed IT teams.
Preparing the DMS for Day One
One of the critical components of the Pharr Nissan transition was preparing the dealership's Reynolds & Reynolds environment.
Tammie Johnson, EVP of Professional Services, led the DMS portion of the transition, working behind the scenes to help keep the many requirements, dealership resources, and outstanding items moving toward Day One.
Working with the dealership, Tammie and OWL's Professional Services team helped manage the DMS related work throughout the transition. This included carrying over necessary specifications, coordinating user setup and security, making sure the appropriate dealership employees were involved in the process, coordinating validation, reviewing required information and forms, following up on outstanding items, and helping prepare the dealership to operate in its new environment.
The goal was not simply to get users into the system.
It was to make sure the dealership was prepared to use the system to run the business.
That distinction is important during an acquisition.
A DMS touches nearly every area of dealership operations, and preparing it requires coordination between the dealership, the DMS provider, employees, and other technology resources.
That work was happening alongside OWL's Infrastructure and IT Project Management efforts, allowing the DMS preparation and physical technology transition to move toward the same Day One goal.
Bringing the Technology Pieces Together
The DMS was only one part of the transition.
OWL also helped coordinate the other technology workstreams that needed to come together around it, including the dealership's network, computers and devices, payment equipment, phones, equipment procurement, and the transition from the outgoing IT provider.
Each vendor and system had its own responsibilities and timeline, but ultimately all of those pieces needed to work together inside one dealership.
OWL helped coordinate those dependencies so dealership leadership did not have to independently manage every technical workstream while also handling the many other responsibilities that come with an acquisition.
Turning the Plan Into a Working Dealership
Behind the scenes planning and coordination eventually have to translate into technology that works inside the dealership.Stephanie Bentley, Director of IT Project Management; Stewart Lori, Sr. IT Project Support Administrator; and Lawrence Fieber, Infrastructure Engineer were on site at Pharr Nissan of Chesterton to support the transition.
The on site team worked across the dealership's technology environment, coordinating with the outgoing IT provider, preparing and reimaging computers, installing and configuring necessary software, replacing credit card machines, procuring and deploying new iPads, helping employees access Reynolds & Reynolds, transitioning network administration, and connecting machines to OWL's Remote Monitoring and Management platform.
Each of those tasks supported a much larger objective:
When employees arrived to work, they needed the technology required to do their jobs.
More Than One Technology Workstream
Getting a newly acquired dealership operational does not fall neatly into one technology category.
The DMS affects users, security, specifications, validation, forms, and daily dealership processes.
Infrastructure affects computers, devices, equipment, networks, and connectivity.
Project Management keeps dealership personnel, vendors, timelines, dependencies, and outstanding tasks moving together.
Managed IT provides network administration, monitoring, Help Desk support, and continued technology management.
Other technology providers, including the DMS provider, phone vendor, payment processor, equipment providers, and outgoing IT company, all have roles to play.
OWL brings those capabilities together across one organization.
For dealership leadership, that means having a partner that understands not only the individual technology components, but how those components need to work together to get the dealership operating.
When the Unexpected Happens
Of course, not every dealership transition goes exactly according to plan.
On the OWL team's final day on site, severe weather moved through the area. A tornado caused significant damage nearby, including to a dealership just two buildings away, and the area experienced a complete power outage.
The circumstances changed, but the need for support did not.
After the team left the dealership, OWL continued monitoring the environment remotely and maintained access to the controller while services were being restored.
It was an unusual situation, but one that reinforced the importance of having a team capable of adapting when circumstances change.
Because getting a dealership operational is not simply about completing a checklist. It is about being able to respond to what happens along the way.
Day One Is Not the Finish Line
The acquisition date may be the deadline everyone is working toward, but Day One is really the beginning of the dealership's next chapter.
Following the transition, Pharr Nissan of Chesterton continued with OWL through Managed IT Services, Help Desk support, network administration, remote monitoring, and dedicated project management resources.
That creates continuity between the work required to prepare the dealership for the acquisition and the technology support employees need afterward.
The same organization that understands how the environment was transitioned can continue supporting it as the dealership moves into normal operations.
You Bought the Dealership. OWL Helps With What Comes Next.
A dealership acquisition already gives ownership and leadership an enormous amount to manage.Technology should not require them to personally coordinate every workstation, user account, DMS requirement, vendor, network dependency, payment device, form, and deadline.
That is where OWL can help.
For Pharr Nissan of Chesterton, our teams worked across DMS preparation, infrastructure, project management, vendor coordination, on site implementation, and ongoing Managed IT support to help move the dealership from acquisition toward operational readiness.
It is the same approach OWL brings to dealership transitions across the country:
Understand what needs to happen. Bring the right resources together. Coordinate the moving pieces. Help get the dealership ready to operate.
Acquiring a dealership?
OWL can help manage the technology before, during, and after Day One.